0 A.D. is a historical real-time
strategyopen
source game, published by Wildfire Games. It will focus on the
years between 500 BC
and 500 AD. 0
A.D. will be released in two parts: the first will cover the
500 BC–1 BC period, and the second will span 1 AD to 500 AD. It has
been in development since 2000, with actual work on the game
starting in 2003. The game aims to be entirely free and open
source. In addition, the developers do not get paid for their work,
nor will they charge for their product. When the game is finished,
it will be available for download on the internet. Developers
confirmed releasing of the project as open source.[1]

Contents

History

0 A.D. was originally a mod concept for Age of
Empires II: The Age of Kings. With limited design
capabilities, the team soon turned to trying to create a full
independent game based on their ideas. On July 10, 2009, Wildfire
Games reported that it is switching from a closed development
process to open source, making the game's code available as GPL and the art content
available as CC-BY-SA.

Game
content

The 0 A.D. team aims to deliver an experience that is
refreshingly innovative but at the same time familiar, focusing
mostly on the military aspect of real-time strategy. The game will
pursue a strong sense of historical accuracy without damaging
gameplay. It also aims for a high degree of replay ability by being
easily moddable and the formation of a large online community. The
player will have to build a city and an army following the rules of
standard real-time strategy games, collecting resources and
constructing buildings. The game will include multiple units and
buildings specific to each civilization. It will include both land
and naval units.

In-game screenshot, showing a Hellenic (Greek) town

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Civilizations

Carthaginians: will have the
strongest navy in the game; the fiercest contenders on the high
seas. They were also masters of naval trade, extending their trade
routes even beyond the pillars of Hercules and circumnavigating
Africa. They deployed towered War Elephants on the battlefield to
fearsome effect.

Celts: The Britons and Gauls
are the antithesis of the rigid organization of Rome. A fierce
horde of woad-painted Celtic warriors charging across the plains
was a fearsome sight. They considered the bow and other ranged arms
to be a weapon of cowards, and excel in hand-to-hand combat. Not
known for their machines of war, they have minimal navy and siege.
They construct mostly wooden buildings, which are fast and
inexpensive to construct, though far less robust than their stone
counterparts.

Hellenes:
Controlling the representatives from the Hellenic region, the
player has the power of Sparta, Athens and Macedonia at his
command. As the forebears of philosophy, democracy, geometry, and
Hellenistic art and architecture, they are considered to be civic
minded. However, do not discount the strength of their stone
structures, the resolve of a Hoplite in phalanx formation, or their
historic ability to steal victory against seemingly insurmountable
odds.

Iberians: The Iberians
were fathers of the art of guerrilla warfare, capable of lightning
strikes against an opponent and withdrawing before he can mass an
offensive. Their foot units are some of the fastest and most
rapid-firing in the game, particularly their Balearic Slingers. A
number of their ranged units also have the unique ability to fire
flaming missiles. Toledo steel grants them superior metal
weaponry.

Persians: The Persian Empire is the most
cosmopolitan civilization, levying a wide variety of troops from
their vassal satrapies. Their infantry are weak and
poorly-equipped, little more than cannon fodder, but can be massed
in vast numbers. They have the strongest (though most expensive)
cavalry in the game, and are the only civilization that features
all forms of cavalry, including the fearsome cavalry archer. Their
cavalry is equally exotic, including camelry, mahout elephants, and
scythed chariots. They are known for their lavish wealth, grand
architecture and strong trade empire through the Silk Road.

Romans:
The great conquering imperial powerhouse that swept across Europe,
the western shores of the Mediterranean and North Africa in its
early days as a Republic. The Romans are notable for their
regimented military, powerful siege engines, broad range of naval
vessels, politics, and ability to adapt.

Buildings

The Civic Center is the fundamental core structure of your town
or city, and controls all principal functions of your civilization. From
here, you’re given the ability to train the essential economic and
basic military units that are crucial to your nation’s survival,
especially in the early developmental stages of your city. The
civic center can also be used as a gather point for nearby
resources if a resource center isn’t in your budget. In
province-based game styles, construction of civic centers will be
necessary for claiming new territory. Similar to Ensemble
Studios' Age of Mythology, Civic Centers
will have to be built over a Settlement, limiting the number of
Civic Centers that can be on a map.

Houses are quintessential elements to the growth of your town,
granting you additional living space for your citizens and soldiers.
Each house you construct contributes additional space to your
overall ‘population
limit’, and each unit you build will fill a space in this
population cap. Essentially, the more houses you have, the larger
your army can be, and the easier it will be to defeat your
enemies.

A mill will extend your gathering radius for mining stone and
metal and chopping wood. You’ll then be able to salvage nearby
resources that are too far from your civic center to be gathered
from. You’ll also be able to improve your mining and
chopping-related abilities by purchasing upgrades.

Farmsteads allow extended gathering radius
of food sources, such as wild animals herds or nearby crops. Much
like the mill, they will allow you to reach previously unattainable
resources that are farther away from the center of your city, and
provide a number of upgraded tools for your villagers to improve
their gathering rate. Also, fields must be constructed within range
of farmsteads or your civic center to be used.

By garrisoning animals in a corral, each animal will provide a steady
trickle of food to your supply, or you can slaughter an animal for
a quick burst of food in more desperate situations. Garrisoning
horses, camels or elephants in a corral will reduce the production
cost of units that use the animal.

Docks can only be constructed on the edge of a body of water,
and provide all naval related services, from trading to fishing to
the construction of naval war machines. Depending on the
surrounding landscape and location of enemies, docks can often be
central structure of your nation’s economic and diplomatic
survival. If water-based transportation is required to reach enemy
territory, it is crucial that docks be protected.

In-game screenshot showing off water capabilities.

Markets serve a number of economically related purposes,
primarily consisting of bartering resources between cities and
allied factions. Merchants travel back and forth between
markets to exchange resources for a steady profit. Only one market
can be constructed per city or territory, so location is key in
order to generate the fastest income.

Walls are essential to the protection of your city, and will
keep enemies at bay while you construct defending forces. Gates can
be constructed on longer segments of walls to allow passage of your
soldiers in and out of the city without compromising security. Many
players find that walls can become an essential aspect of an
overall defensive strategy while slowly amassing an impressive city
and keeping the enemy at bay, then eventually ‘booming’ with
indomitable forces.

Scout and guard towers can be used to provide an additional
radius of sight to look out for approaching enemies, and can be
upgraded to provide ranged fire to prevent enemies from entering
your city limits, or to keep enemies at bay while you prepare
defensive forces.

The Military Center, or Barracks, is where you will train the bulk of
your military forces. Military technologies are also researched
here in order increase the stats (attack, armour, speed, health) of
your soldiers. You can build two barracks per territory.

In addition to providing the ability to train religious units,
the Temple will provide a source of healing for any wounded
civilians or soldiers that stand within its vicinity. Temples are
not essential elements of your architectural conglomerate, but can
be helpful if you’ve been damaged by the tides of war.

Fortresses are where most of the game's
factions train their super units, heroes, and siege weapons (there
is one notable exception). Strong, but expensive, Fortresses have
ample room for a large garrison and is easily defended. One of
these may be built per territory.

Special Buildings are structures unique to each faction and
have some kind of unique function. In this image you can see the Hellenic (Greek) "Tholos" Special Building, which
trains Hellenic heroes,
and the Persian "Kakh" (Palace) Special
Building that grants the Persian player a large economic bonus.[3]

A short promotional video of 0 A.D. (released in late 2007)

Release
date

The game is still under development as of December 2009 and no
release date has been set. However, when finished it will be
available as a free download.

Source
release

On July 10, 2009, Wildfire Games decided to release source code
for 0 A.D. under the GPL 2, and the art content
available under the CC-BY-SA[4]

Reception

0 A.D. was in the Top 100 Best Mods and Indies of 2008 and has
been nominated for Upcoming Indie Game of the Year by Mod DB.